Systems and methods for avoiding margin stacking

ABSTRACT

A manufacturing resource planning system for a manufacturer to avoid margin stacking is provided that receives order information identifying a product and provides sales information including a sales price of the product. The manufacturing resource planning system identifies the electronic components required to manufacture the product, identifies whether each electronic component is an owned electronic component owned by the manufacturer or a consigned electronic component consigned to the manufacturer, determines an acquisition cost of each owned electronic component and a consignment fee associated with each consigned electronic component, and determines the sales price of the product based on the acquisition cost of each respective owned electronic component, the consignment fee associated with each respective consigned electronic component, and a markup associated with the product.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/889,667, titled “METHOD FOR AVOIDINGMARGIN STACKING,” filed Oct. 11, 2013, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In the development and manufacture of numerous products, it is commonfor a product manufacturer to incorporate components manufactured by andpurchased from others. For example, the manufacturer of an electronicdevice, such as a smartphone or computer will typically purchasecomponents, such as processors or other devices, which are includedwithin the final product. These purchased components may range from verysimple, inexpensive parts, to complex, relatively expensive devices.

An important metric by which public companies are evaluated is profitmargin. When a manufacturer sells a product to a customer incorporatingpurchased components from a third party, the cost of those purchasedcomponents, which includes the third party's profit margin, is built into the cost of the product. Thus, the selling price of the product mustaccommodate both the manufacturer's own profit margin and the thirdparty's profit margin. This is known as “margin stacking.” Since theselling price of the product may be dictated by market forces, marginstacking may adversely affect the manufacturer's own profit margin.

SUMMARY

Aspects and embodiments of the present invention provide for processesand apparatus for avoiding margin stacking in the manufacture of variouselectronic devices with multiple components. For instance, in accordancewith one embodiment, the manufacturer receives components of theelectronic device on a consignment basis from a holding party,incorporates the received components into the electronic device, andsells the electronic device to the holding party. By receiving thecomponents of the electronic device on a consignment basis, the cost ofthe product for the manufacturer is reduced. Consequently, the basis forthe manufacturer's profit margin is reduced allowing the manufacturer tosell the product at a lower price while still maintaining the sameprofit margin. Also, in some embodiments, manufacturing resourceplanning systems and methods are implemented to facilitate thedetermination of which products to manufacture and/or process receivedproduct orders consistent with various methods to reduce marginstacking.

According to one aspect, a method to avoid margin stacking is provided.The method includes accepting at least one component on consignment froma holding party, integrating the at least one component into theproduct, and selling the product to the holding party. It is appreciatedthat accepting the at least one component may include accepting the atleast one component on consignment at zero cost.

In one embodiment, the product is a system-in-package electronic device.In this embodiment, integrating the at least one component into theproduct includes fabricating the system-in-package electronic deviceincluding the at least one component integrated into thesystem-in-package electronic device. In addition, selling the product tothe holding party includes selling the system-in-package electronicdevice to the holding party.

In one embodiment, selling the product to the holding party includesdetermining a cost of the product and applying a margin to the cost ofthe product to set a selling price of the product. In this embodiment,the cost of the product does not include a cost of the at least onecomponent.

In one embodiment, the method further includes identifying the at leastone component to be incorporated into a product and directing theholding party to acquire the at least one component.

According to one aspect, yet another method to avoid margin stacking isprovided. The method includes consigning at least one component to aproduct manufacturer, purchasing a product from the productmanufacturer, and selling the product to a customer. It is appreciatedthat the at least one component integrated may be integrated into theproduct by, for example, the manufacturer.

In one embodiment, the method further includes purchasing the at leastone component from a component supplier. In various embodiments,consigning the at least one component includes consigning the at leastone component to the product manufacturer for zero charge. In yet otherembodiments, the product is a system-in-package electronic device.

According to one aspect, another method to avoid margin stacking isprovided. The method includes acquiring at least one component from acomponent supplier, consigning at least one component to a productmanufacturer, and purchasing a product from the product manufacturer,the product having the at least one component integrated therein.

In one embodiment, consigning the at least one component includesconsigning the at least one component to the product manufacturer forzero charge. In various embodiments, purchasing the product includespurchasing a system-in-package electronic device. In yet otherembodiments, the method further includes selling the product to acustomer.

According to one aspect, a method of reducing margin stacking inproduction of a system-in-package (SIP) electronic device is provided.The method includes directing a distributor of the SIP electronic deviceto acquire at least one component to be integrated into the SIPelectronic device, accepting the at least one component on consignmentfrom the distributor, integrating the at least one component with aplurality of electronic parts to produce the SIP electronic device, andselling the SIP electronic device to the distributor.

In one embodiment, the method further includes procuring the pluralityof electronic parts. In various embodiment, the plurality of electronicparts includes a front-end component, the at least one componentincludes a system-on-chip (SoC) component, and integrating includesintegrating the SoC component and the front-end component to produce theSIP electronic device. In yet other embodiments, accepting the at leastone component includes accepting the at least one component onconsignment at zero cost.

In one embodiment, selling the SIP electronic device to the distributorincludes determining a cost of the SIP electronic device, wherein thecost of the SIP electronic device does not include a cost of the atleast one component and applying a margin to the cost of the SIPelectronic device to set a selling price of the SIP electronic device.

According to one aspect, a manufacturing resource planning system for amanufacturer is provided. The manufacturing resource planning systemincludes a memory storing a bill of materials (BOM) associated with atleast one product, at least one processor coupled to the memory, aninterface component executable by the at least one processor, and aresource planning component executable by the at least one processor.The interface planning component is configured to receive orderinformation identifying the at least one product and to provide salesinformation including a sales price of the at least one product. Theresource planning component is configured to identify, responsive toreceiving the order information, a plurality of electronic componentsrequired to manufacture the at least one product based on the BOMassociated with the at least one product, identify whether eachrespective electronic component of the plurality of electroniccomponents is one of an owned electronic component owned by themanufacturer or a consigned electronic component consigned to themanufacturer, determine an acquisition cost of each respective ownedelectronic component and a consignment fee associated with eachrespective consigned electronic component, and determine the sales priceof the at least one product based on the acquisition cost of eachrespective owned electronic component, the consignment fee associatedwith each respective consigned electronic component, and a markupassociated with the at least one product.

In one embodiment, the resource planning component is further configuredto identify a holding party associated with each respective consignedelectronic component. In this embodiment, the resource planningcomponent may be further configured to generate an invoice including thesales price of the at least one product. The interface component is maybe further configured to provide the invoice to the holding party.

In one embodiment, the resource planning component is further configuredto determine the sales price at least in part by determining a sum ofthe acquisition cost of each respective owned electronic component. Inthis embodiment, the resource planning system may be further configuredto determine a cost of goods sold (COGS) associated with the at leastone product based on the sum. The resource planning component may befurther configured to determine the sales price at least in part bycomputing a product of the COGS and the markup associated with the atleast one product.

In one embodiment, the consignment fee associated with each respectiveconsigned electronic component is less than an acquisition cost of eachrespective consigned electronic component. In this embodiment, theconsignment fee associated with each respective consigned electroniccomponent may be zero.

In one embodiment, the order information includes a desired sales priceof the at least one produce and the resource planning component isfurther configured to determine a difference between the sales price andthe desired sales price. In this embodiment, the resource planningcomponent may be further configured to generate a recommendation toaccept or reject the order based on the difference between the salesprice and the desired sales price.

According to one aspect, a method of manufacturing resource planning isprovided. The method includes storing, via a memory coupled to at leastone processor, a bill of materials (BOM) associated with at least oneproduct, receiving, by an interface component executable by the at leastone processor, order information identifying at least one product,identifying, by a resource planning component executable by the at leastone processor, a plurality of electronic components required tomanufacture the at least one product based the BOM associated with theat least one product, identifying, by the resource planning component,whether each respective electronic component of the plurality ofelectronic components is one of an owned electronic component owned bythe manufacturer or a consigned electronic component consigned to themanufacturer, determining, by the resource planning component, anacquisition cost of each respective owned electronic component and aconsignment fee associated with each respective consigned electroniccomponent, determining, by the resource planning component, a salesprice of the at least one product based on the acquisition cost of eachrespective owned electronic component, the consignment fee associatedwith each respective consigned electronic component, and a markupassociated with the at least one product, and providing, via theinterface component, sales information including the sales price of theat least one product.

In one embodiment, the method further includes identifying a holdingparty associated with each respective consigned electronic component. Inthis embodiment, the method may further include generating an invoiceincluding the sales price of the at least one product and/or providingthe invoice to the holding party.

In one embodiment, determining the sales price includes determining asum of the acquisition cost of each respective owned electroniccomponent. In this embodiment, determining the sales price may furtherinclude determining a cost of goods sold (COGS) associated with the atleast one product based on the sum and/or determining a product of theCOGS and the markup associated with the at least one product.

In one embodiment, determining the consignment fee associated with eachrespective consigned electronic component includes determining a valueof the consignment fee for each respective consigned electroniccomponent, the value of the consignment fee for each respectiveconsigned electronic component being less than an acquisition cost ofeach respective consigned electronic component. In this embodiment, thevalue of the consignment fee for each respective consigned electroniccomponent may equal to zero.

In one embodiment, receiving the order information includes receiving adesired sales price of the at least one produce and the method furtherincludes determining a difference between the sales price and thedesired sales price. In this embodiment, the method may further includegenerating a recommendation to accept or reject the order based on thedifference between the sales price and the desired sales price.

According to one aspect, a method of forming a system in a package isprovided. The method includes receiving a plurality of electricalcomponents, storing first information in a memory of a computer system,the first information identifying a cost of each electrical component ofthe plurality of electrical components, storing second information inthe memory of a computer system, the second information identifyingwhether each electrical component of the plurality of electricalcomponents is one of owned by a manufacturer of the system in a packageor consigned to the manufacturer of the system in a package, bonding theplurality of electrical components on a substrate to form the system ina package, for each respective component of the plurality of components,determining, on at least one processor of the computer system, arespective price of the respective electrical component by multiplyingthe cost of the respective electrical component by a first margin inresponse to the second information identifying the respective electricalcomponent is owned by the manufacturer, and by a second margin inresponse to the second information identifying the respective electricalcomponent is consigned to the manufacturer, summing, on the at least oneprocessor, the respective price of each respective electrical componentof the plurality of electrical components, determining, on the at leastone processor, the price of the system in a package based on the sum,and shipping the system in a package for the sum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, components that are identical or nearly identical may berepresented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not everycomponent is labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a state chart and flow diagram representing one example of amethod of avoiding margin stacking according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example electronic device according tocertain embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a state chart and flow diagram representing an example of amethod of manufacturing an electronic device according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example SIP device according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 5 is another state chart and flow diagram representing one exampleof a method of avoiding margin stacking according to certainembodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example electronic device developmentprocess according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of an example manufacturing resource planningsystem according to certain embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram representing an example method of manufacturingresource planning according to certain embodiments; and

FIG. 9 is an illustration of an example computer system according tocertain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and embodiments are directed to methods for avoiding marginstacking. In particular, as discussed in more detail below, aspects andembodiments provide for a method of consigning certain components thatare to be integrated into a product to a “holding party,” namely, anentity separate from the product manufacturer, who will continue to holdownership or title of the components during manufacture of the product.As used herein, the term “consign” is intended to mean “to deposit withanother to be sold, disposed of, or called for, whereby title does notpass until there is action of consignee indicating sale.” Thus, theproduct manufacturer does not acquire title to the components that arereceived on consignment, and therefore these components need not beconsidered part of the cost of the product, as discussed further below.The holding party may then purchase the completed product from theproduct manufacturer, and sell the product to customers, as alsodiscussed further below. Taking this approach, the product manufactureravoids the need to purchase the components and add the cost of thesecomponents to the manufacturer's selling price of the product, therebyavoiding the margin stacking problems noted above.

It is to be appreciated that embodiments of the methods and apparatusesdiscussed herein are not limited in application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Themethods and apparatuses are capable of implementation in otherembodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in variousways. Examples of specific implementations are provided herein forillustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting.Embodiments disclosed herein may be combined with other embodiments inany manner consistent with at least one of the principles disclosedherein, and references to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “analternate embodiment,” “various embodiments,” “one embodiment” or thelike are not necessarily mutually exclusive and are intended to indicatethat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described may beincluded in at least one embodiment. The appearances of such termsherein are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Also,the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use herein of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” andvariations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter andequivalents thereof as well as additional items. References to “or” maybe construed as inclusive so that any terms described using “or” mayindicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms.

Integration of third party components into products offers numerousadvantages, and in many cases is essential in product development andmanufacture. For example, in the electronics industry there isincreasing demand for smaller, more capable devices, which drivesincreasing integration. In particular, “System in Package” (hereinafter“SIP”) integration offers significant benefits in terms of both size andintegration, while also providing technical advantages over discretedesigns and modules. For example, a device such an RF transceiver,implemented using discrete components may have a surface footprint ofapproximately 25×30 mm². By contrast, an SIP providing the samefunctionality as the device implemented using discrete components mayhave a surface area of only approximately 7×9 mm². SIP devices may alsohave higher production yields than discrete designs.

Thus, the SIP integration approach offers several benefits, includingintegration and reduction in size, and may be highly desirable for manyapplications. However, there is typically added cost associated with SIPdevices relative to the same devices implemented using discretecomponents. Furthermore, in many instances, SIP devices includecomponents that are obtained from third parties. As discussed above,inclusion of these third party components conventionally leads to marginstacking, which may further increase the cost of SIP devices relative tosimilar devices implemented using discrete components, and which mayadversely affect the actual profit margin of the SIP manufacturer. Ineffect, the gross margin of the SIP manufacturer is added to thecomponent being integrated into the SIP, in addition to the marginalready applied by, and paid to, the vendor of the component. As aconsequence, the cost of the SIP is increased, which leads either tohigher prices for the SIP, or where the market will not permit higherSIP prices, decreased actual margin for the SIP manufacturer. Aspectsand embodiments provide methods whereby such margin stacking can beavoided or significantly reduced.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a state chart and flow diagramrepresenting one example of a method according to certain embodiments.At step 132, the product customer 130 orders the product from theholding party 120. The holding party 120 receives the order from thecustomer at step 121 and may communicate the order to the productmanufacturer 100. At step 102, the product manufacturer 100 obtainsand/or develops parts required to produce the product, and identifies atleast one component that is to be obtained from a third party componentmanufacturer or vendor. In steps 112 and 114, the component suppliers110 provide the identified components to a holding party 120 who takestitle to such goods. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the productmanufacturer 100 identifies two components that are provided by twodifferent third party component suppliers 110. However, it is to beappreciated that the product manufacturer 100 may identify only a singlethird party component to be obtained, or multiple third party componentsto be obtained, and these components may be supplied by one or morecomponent suppliers 110. In one example, the component suppliers 110 maysell the components to the holding party at agreed upon prices, ormarket prices, which include the component supplier's margins on thecomponents. Thus, at step 122, the holding party 120 acquires and holdstitle to the components from the component suppliers 110, and consignsthe components to the product manufacturer 100. In one example, theholding party 120 consigns the component(s) to the product manufacturer100 for zero charge. In another example, the holding party 120 consignsthe component(s) to the product manufacturer for some charge or feewhich may generally be small relative to the cost of the componentsbeing consigned. In either case, the holding party 120 retains ownershipof the component(s) during manufacture of the product by the productmanufacturer 100, so that the product manufacturer does not need to holdthe component(s) as inventory or add the cost of the component(s) intothe cost of the product.

In step 104, the product manufacturer 100 obtains the component(s) onconsignment from the holding party 120, and integrates the component(s)into the product. An example manufacturing process to integrate variouscomponents into a product is described further below with reference toFIG. 3. When manufacture of the product is complete, the productmanufacturer sells the product to the holding party 120 (step 106), andthe holding party purchases and acquires the product from the productmanufacturer (step 124). Because the product manufacturer 100 did notneed to account for the cost of the component(s) in the selling price ofthe product, the product manufacturer may sell the product to theholding party 120 at a price that reflects a much lower cost of goodssold (“COGS”) that the product manufacturer contributed to the product.In step 126, the holding party 120 may then sell the product to acustomer 130 (customer purchases the product at step 132). The holdingparty 120 may apply some mark-up (or margin) to the product consistentwith typical industry practice.

Using this approach, the product manufacturer 100 may benefit from theability to report much higher margins due to removal of the cost ofcomponents which may typically be relatively expensive and potentiallyhave high associated margins from the component supplier from the basecost of the product. The component suppliers 110 retain the ability tosell the components at standard prices. The holding party 120 maybenefit from the ability to consign the components to the productmanufacturer for a small fee, or to receive the products at a discountin exchange for holding ownership of the components during theirintegration into the product. Alternatively, or in addition, the holdingparty may add their own margin to the product cost, including the costof the components, and thereby obtain compensation for holding ownershipof the components.

Embodiments of the method are applicable to a wide range of industriesand circumstances in which relatively expensive components areintegrated into products, and where the product manufacturer has anincentive to avoid the margin stacking problem. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 1, there are four parties involved in thetransactions, namely, the product manufacturer 100, the componentsupplier 110, the holding party 120, and the customer 130. However, inother examples, there may be more or fewer parties involved, and/or anyparty may perform more than one of the functions, actions, and/or rolesdiscussed above. For example, either the component supplier 110 or thecustomer 130 may act as the holding party 120, obviating the need for aseparate entity to act as the holding party. In another example, theholding party 120 may be a joint-venture entity with the productmanufacturer 100, with the product manufacturer having less than 50%control over the holding party so as to maintain sufficient financialseparation to avoid having the component classified as part of COGS.

One example electronic device that may be advantageous manufacturedusing the methods described herein is illustrated in FIG. 2. Electronicdevice 200 includes a substrate 204 having an electronic component 202attached thereto, according to one embodiment. The substrate 204 maycomprise any suitable material, such as, but not limited to, a printedcircuit board or a semiconductor material, for example, silicon orgallium arsenide (GaAs), glass, and the like. In the illustratedembodiment, substrate 204 has a first surface 206, and a second surface208. The electronic component 202 may be received on a consignment basisfrom another party and attached to the substrate 204 during variousmanufacturing processes of the electronic device as is discussed furtherbelow with reference to FIG. 3.

According to one embodiment, electronic component 202 is attached tobond pads 210 disposed on the first surface 206 of the substrate 204, asshown in FIG. 2. In one example, the electronic component 202 may bebonded to the bond pads 210 using a flip chip bonding method, as iswidely used for RFICs. However, it is to be appreciated that theelectronic component may instead be connected to the bond pads 210 usingconventional wire bonding or other techniques. As known to those skilledin the art, flip chip mounting includes providing a conductive “bump”212 placed directly on the surface the electronic component 202. Thebumped electronic component 202 is then “flipped over” and placed facedown on the substrate 204, with the bumps 212 connecting the electroniccomponent 202 directly to the bond pads 210.

In one example, a standard gold-to-gold interconnect (GGI) bondingprocess can be used. GGI is a thermosonic process by which gold bumpsand gold bond pads are joined together by heat and ultrasonic powerunder a pressure head, using a machine called a GGI bonder. In thiscase, the bumps 212 and bond pads 210 are made of gold, or at least goldplated. The thermosonic process connection is made by solid-phasebonding between the two gold layers. Diffusion of gold (micro-welding)under load, and ultrasonic power, creates the gold-to-gold connection asa bond layer that is void-free and monolithic. GGI bonding is arelatively low cost technology, and is also a fluxless bonding method,which is environmentally friendly and minimizes contamination of thedevices. In another example of a flip chip bonding method that can beused to bond the electronic component 202 to the substrate 204, thebumps may be copper pillar bumps, and bonding may be achieved using athermosonic process such as that described in commonly-owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/957,730 filed Dec. 17, 2007, entitled “ThermalMechanical Flip Chip Bonding,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,642,135) which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still referring to FIG. 2, substrate 204 may also comprise a number ofvias 214 which include a metallization providing electricalcommunication between the bond pads 210 and external contact pads 216.The external contact pads 216 may be used to connect the completedpackage to an external substrate or printed circuit board, usingtechniques well known in the art. The vias 214 thus provide a signalpath to and from the electronic component 202 contained within thecompleted package.

In one embodiment, the electronic device 200 further includes a capsubstrate to encase the electronic component 202. In this embodiment,the cap substrate, the base substrate 204, or both substrates include arecess that forms a cavity in which the electronic component 202 canreside. The cap substrate may comprise any suitable material such as,for example, a semiconductor material (e.g., silicon or GaAs) or glass.Various embodiments of electronic devices including base substrates andcap substrates are described in commonly-owned U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/740,922 filed Apr. 30, 2010, entitled “WAFER LEVEL PACKAGINGUSING FLIP CHIP MOUNTING,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,324,728) which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. It is appreciated thatthe electronic device 200 may include, in place of or in conjunctionwith a cap substrate, an overmold that encapsulates the substrate 204and the electronic component 202. The overmold may comprise epoxy orother suitable molding compound.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flow diagram of one example method ofmanufacturing an electronic device, such as electronic device 200illustrated in FIG. 2. In a first step 302, the substrate 204 isprocessed to form vias 214 and bond pads 210 in the substrate 204. Anelectronic component 202 may then be mounted on the bond pads (step 304)and attached to the bond pads, for example, using one of the flip chipbonding methods discussed above. It is appreciated that the electroniccomponent 202 may be a consigned electronic component received from, forexample, a holding party as described with reference to FIG. 1.

In optional step 306, a cap substrate may be joined to the basesubstrate (e.g., substrate 204) to seal the electronic component 202 ina cavity between the cap substrate and the base substrate. In oneexample, a bonding process may be selected to achieve hermetic sealingof the electronic component 202. In another example, the cavity maycomprise a vacuum, or alternatively, may be filled with a gas, apassivation such as an oxide, or a polymer such as SU8.

In step 308, external bond pads 216 are provided to allow connection ofthe electronic component 202 to an external substrate or printed circuitboard. After the external bond pads 216 are formed on the substrate, thesubstrate 204 and the electronic component 202 may be encapsulated (step310) with an overmold. The overmold may comprise epoxy or other suitablemolding compound.

It is to be appreciated that embodiments of a method of manufacturing anelectronic device according to the present invention are not limited tothe process flow illustrated in FIG. 3. Rather, the steps may beperformed in an order different from that illustrated, and steps may beadded or removed from the method. For example, as discussed above, anyof the processing and assembly steps may be done at the individualdevice level or at the wafer level.

One example of an industry in which embodiments of the method may beapplied to great advantage is the semiconductor devices industry. Asdiscussed above, SIP integration offers numerous benefits in thedevelopment of small electronic devices with high capability. However,production of SIP devices typically involves the integration of thirdparty components, and margin stacking can cause a negative impact on theSIP product manufacturer's financials. For example, referring to FIG. 4,there is illustrated a block diagram of one example of an electronicdevice which may be implemented as an SIP device. In the illustratedexample, the SIP device 400 is a transceiver, and includes a “front-end”component 410, a “system-on-chip” (SoC) component 420 coupled to thefront-end component, and a crystal 430 coupled to the SoC component 420.The front-end component 410 includes a double-pole-double-throw switch412 to connect the electronics to one or more external antennas 440. Thefront-end component 410 further includes a power amplifier 414, a filter416, and a switchable low-noise amplifier (LNA) 418. The SoC component420 includes a microcontroller 422 and a radio 424. In one example, theSoC component 420, and optionally the crystal 430, may be componentsthat are conventionally purchased by the SIP manufacturer and integratedwith the front-end component 410 (which may be developed by the SIPmanufacturer) into the SIP device 400. In particular, the SoC component420 may be a relatively expensive component, for example, adding fourtimes or more the cost of the front-end component 410 to the overallcost of the SIP device 400.

In the semiconductor devices industry, it is relatively common for anSIP manufacturer to sell the SIP device 400 to a distributer, who thensells the SIP device to end customers. Accordingly, the SIP manufacturerand the distributer already have a relationship, and therefore thisindustry may be well prepared to implement embodiments of the methoddiscussed herein by having the distributer act as the holding party 112described above.

Thus, referring to FIG. 5 and considering the example of the SIP device400, in one embodiment, the customer 540 orders the SIP device fromdistributor 510 in step 542. The distributor 510 receives the order fromthe customer in step 511. In step 512, the distributor 510 proceeds toacquire, for example, purchase, the SoC component 420 from a SoCcomponent supplier 522. The distributer 510 may also acquire, forexample, purchase, the crystal 430 from a crystal supplier 524 in step512. The crystal supplier 524 may or may not be the same company (or arelated company of) the SoC component supplier 522. The SoC supplier 522and crystal supplier 524 may add their own margins to the costs of theSoC component 420 and the crystal 430, which is reflected in the priceof these components as sold to the distributer 510. The distributer 510then consigns the SoC component 420, and optionally the crystal 430, tothe SIP manufacturer 530 (step 514). The SIP manufacturer 530 procuresor develops the front-end component 410 and any other componentry,parts, and/or materials necessary to manufacture the SIP device 400(step 532), and accepts the SoC component 420 and optionally the crystal430 on consignment from the distributer 510 (step 534). Also in step534, the SIP manufacturer 530 integrates the SoC component 420 and thecrystal, along with the front-end component 410 and any other parts, toproduce the SIP device 400.

The SIP manufacturer 530 determines the cost of the SIP device 400,which includes the cost of the front-end component 410, any other partsand materials, along with labor costs and any other associateddevelopment and manufacturing costs. However, the cost of the SIP device400 does not include the cost of the SoC component 420, and optionallythe crystal 430, because the SIP manufacturer 530 accepted thesecomponents on consignment from the distributor 510, rather thanpurchasing them. If the distributer 510 charges any fee to the SIPmanufacturer 530 for obtaining and consigning the SoC component 420 andthe crystal 430, this fee may be included in the cost of the SIP device400; however, any such fee may be small compared to the cost of the SoCcomponent and the crystal. The SIP manufacturer 530 then adds its marginto the cost of the SIP device 400 and sells the SIP device to thedistributer 510 (step 536). Because the cost of the SoC component 420and the crystal 430 (which includes the margins added by the suppliersof these components) has been excluded from the cost of the SIP device400 to the SIP manufacturer, the problem of margin stacking is avoided.In step 516, the distributer 510 purchases the SIP device 400 from theSIP manufacturer 530. The distributer 510 adds its own margin to the SIPdevice 400, and sells the SIP device to a customer 540 (step 518).

Thus, aspects and embodiments provide a method whereby margin stackingmay be avoided or substantially reduced. Relatively expensive componentsthat carry margin added by the supplier(s) of such components areconsigned to the party needing to integrate them (product manufacturer)into its product, rather than having their ownership change to theproduct manufacturer. This allows the product manufacturer to sell theproduct based on the labor, value, and COGS that were integrated intothe product, but excluding the cost of the consigned goods. Thisapproach may be considered as the product manufacturer improving thecomponent(s) consigned to them, and selling the value of theimprovements, with the product manufacturer's added margin, back to theholding party. In this manner, the product manufacturer may realize asignificantly higher gross margin profile, which may be highlybeneficial, while also meeting market prices for its products.

The various methods to avoid and/or reduce margin stacking describedherein may be readily applied by manufacturers to various stages of adesign and manufacturing schedule associated with bringing an electronicdevice to market. For example, manufacturers may select differentelectronic devices to manufacture based on a determination of whichelectronic components may be received on a consignment basis. FIG. 6illustrates an example electronic device development process 600according to certain embodiments. The example electronic devicedevelopment process 600 includes an opportunity identification phase602, a planning phase 604, a design phase 606, an optimization andverification phase 608, a release to manufacturing phase 610, a massproduction phase 612, and an end of life phase 614.

At the opportunity identification phase 602, the manufacturer receivesvarious electronic device manufacturing requests. The specificelectronic device in the manufacturing request may be a specific asub-system (e.g., an RF transceiver) for an end-user product (e.g., acell phone). The electronic device manufacturing requests each includean electronic device specification indicating various performancerequirements of the manufactured electronic device and a desired pricefor the electronic device. The device specification may also include adesired quantity to be manufactured. The manufacturer evaluates themanufacturing requests to identify a subset of manufacturing requests toactually manufacture. The manufacturer may determine which manufacturingrequests to pursue based on a projected gross margin of manufacturingthe specified product. In one example, the manufacturer may only pursuemanufacturing requests with a projected gross margin for themanufacturer in excess of a desired amount, for example, 50%. In thisexample, the manufacturer may determine which components may be receivedon a consignment basis to reduce the cost basis of manufacturing thespecified electronic device.

At the planning phase 604, the manufacturer develops plans tomanufacture the requested electronic device. For example, themanufacturer may identify available manufacturing resources, assignvarious human resources to the project, and set timelines for thesubsequent phases of the electronic device development process 600.

At the design phase 606, the manufacturer designs the electronic devicebased on the received specification. For example, the manufacturer maygenerate a chip or substrate layout of the electronic device. Afterdesigning the electronic device, the manufacturer ensures that thegenerated design meets or exceeds the requirements of the receivedproduct specification at the optimization and verification phase 608. Inone example, the manufacturer creates prototypes of the design and teststhe created prototypes during the optimization and verification phase608.

At the release to manufacturing phase 610, the manufacturer preparesmanufacturing equipment to mass-produce the product. For example, themanufacturer may obtain new equipment and/or retool existing equipmentto manufacturing the new device design.

At the mass production phase 612, the manufacturer produces the productin volume. As the mass product phase 612 comes to a close, themanufacturer ramps down production in the end of life phase 614.

As discussed above, various methods of avoiding margin stacking may bereadily applied to different phases of electronic device manufacturing.The manufacturer, however, may require specialized systems and methodsto implement the various methods of avoiding margin stacking.Accordingly, FIG. 7 illustrates an example manufacturing resourceplanning system 600 according to certain embodiments for a manufacturerimplementing the various methods of avoiding margin stacking. Themanufacturing resource planning system 700 receives order information702 and provides sales information 704 via interface component 706.Interface component 706 may include a user interface component 708 topresent information to and/or receive input from a user 710. Themanufacturing resource planning system 700 further includes a resourceplanning component 712 connected to the data storage 714 and theinterface component 706 via network elements 718. The data storage 714can include a bill of materials (BOM) database 716.

In one embodiments, the manufacturing resource planning system 700receives order information 702 from a holding party (e.g., holding party120 and/or distributor 510) via the interface component 706. The orderinformation 702 includes an indication of the electronic device to bemanufactured and the holding party. The order information 702 may alsoinclude a desired quantity associated with the electronic device and thedesired total cost or cost per unit. It is appreciated that the orderinformation 702 may also be received from a user 710 via the optionaluser interface 708.

In some embodiment the resource planning component 712 generates thesales information 704 based on received order information 702 and/orinformation stored in data storage 714 (e.g., information in the BOMdatabase 716). The resource planning component 712 determines costsassociated with manufacturing the product indicated in the orderinformation 702 and marks up the cost of the product to generate anappropriate sales price. The generated sales price is provided to theholding party as part of the sales information 704. It is appreciatedthat the sales information 704 may include additional elements outsideof the sales price. For example, the sales information 704 may includean invoice requesting payment for the manufactured product from theholding party.

In some embodiments, the resource planning component 712 determines thecost to manufacture the product indicated in the order information byidentifying the various components required to make the product and anindication of whether each required component is purchased from asupplier or received on a consignment basis. In one example, theresource planning component 712 identifies the various electroniccomponents required to manufacture the product identified in the orderinformation 702. The resource planning component 712 may identify theelectronic components by locating the BOM associated with the product inthe BOM database. The resource planning component 712 identifies thetype of each electronic component required to manufacture the product.For example, the types of electronic components may include an ownedelectronic component type indicating that the electronic component iseither owned by the manufacturer or will be purchased by themanufacturer and a consigned electronic component type indicating thatthe electronic component is owned by another party. The resourceplanning component 712 determines a cost to acquire each ownedelectronic component and any fees or costs associated with the consignedelectronic components (e.g., consignment fees). The resource planningcomponent 712 determines the cost to manufacture the product based on atleast the costs associated with the owned and consigned electroniccomponents. It is appreciated that the resource planning component 712may determine the cost to manufacture the product based on informationoutside the raw cost of materials including, for example, manufacturingtime, equipment wear, and any overhead costs.

In some embodiments, the resource planning component determines a salesprice of the product based on the calculated cost to manufacture theproduct. In one example, the resource planning component 712 determinesa sales price for the product by marking up the cost associated with theproduct to generate the sales information. The percentage markupemployed may be a predetermined fixed markup (e.g., 50%).

In one embodiment, the manufacturing resource planning system 700 isemployed in the opportunity identification phase 602 in the electronicdevice development process 600 (as described previously with referenceto FIG. 6). In this embodiment, the order information 702 includes adesired price for the specified product and/or a BOM associated with theproduct. The resource planning component 712 identifies which componentsmay be received on a consignment basis from the received BOM. Forexample, the data storage 714 may include a list of pre-approved itemsthat various holding parties have agreed to provide to the manufactureron a consignment basis. The resource planning component 712 determinesan appropriate price based on the estimated cost to manufacture theproduct and the mark-up. In this embodiment, the resource planningcomponent 712 provides a recommendation as to whether the manufacturershould design and manufacture the product indicated in the orderinformation 702 by comparing the desired sales price in the orderinformation and the calculated sales price required to achieve a givenmargin. The recommendation may be included in the sales information 704in addition to a project margin for the manufacturer.

As described above with reference to FIG. 7, several embodiments performprocesses for manufacturing resource planning. In some embodiments,these manufacturing resource planning processes are executed by amanufacturing resource planning system, such as the manufacturingresource planning system 700 described above with reference to FIG. 7.One example of such a manufacturing resource planning process isillustrated in FIG. 8. According to one example, the method ofmanufacturing resource planning 800 includes the acts of receiving orderinformation 802, identifying electronic components 804, identifyingcomponent type for each electronic component 806, determining anacquisition cost 808, determining a sales price 810, and providing salesinformation 812.

At act 802, the manufacturing resource planning system receives orderinformation from a holding party (e.g., holding party 120 and/ordistributor 510). The order information includes an indication of theelectronic device to be manufactured and the holding party. The orderinformation may also include a desired quantity associated with theelectronic device and the desired total cost or cost per unit.

At act 804, the manufacturing resource planning system identifieselectronic components required to manufacture the product. Themanufacturing resource planning system may identify the electroniccomponents required by matching the product indicated in the orderinformation with a product in the BOM database and retrieve theelectronic components identified in the BOM database.

At act 806, the manufacturing resource planning system identifies acomponent type for each electronic component. The manufacturing resourceplanning system may determine whether each component is a consignedcomponent received on a consignment basis or an owned electroniccomponent owned, or to be acquired, by the manufacturer.

At act 808, the manufacturing resource planning system determines anacquisition cost for each owned electronic component. The manufacturingresource planning system may also determine any consignment feesassociated with the consigned electronic components.

At act 810, the manufacturing resource planning system determines asales price associated with the product. The manufacturing resourceplanning system may determine the sales price based on a determinedCOGS. In one example, the manufacturing resource planning systemdetermines the COGS based on the acquisition cost of each ownedelectronic component, the consignment fees for the consigned electroniccomponents (if any), and any associated manufacturing costs. In thisexample, the sales price is the cost of goods sold marked up by apercentage.

At act 812, the manufacturing resource planning system provides salesinformation to the third-party. The sales information includes the salesprice determined at act 810. The sales information may also include aninvoice to provide to the holding party requesting payment for themanufactured products. In one embodiment, the sales information furtherincludes a recommendation as to whether the product meets a requiredmargin for the manufacturer. In this embodiment, the manufacturingresource planning system compares a desired sales price received in theorder information and the sales price determined at act 810. If thedetermined sales price is less than or equal to the desired sales price,the resource planning system indicates in the sales information that theorder meets the margin requirements. Otherwise, the manufacturingresource planning system indicates in the order information that theorder does not meet the margin requirements and should not be pursued bythe manufacturer.

Various aspects and functions described herein may be implemented asspecialized hardware or software components executing in one or morecomputer systems. There are many examples of computer systems that arecurrently in use. These examples include, among others, networkappliances, personal computers, workstations, mainframes, networkedclients, servers, media servers, application servers, database serversand web servers. Other examples of computer systems may include mobilecomputing devices, such as cellular phones and personal digitalassistants, and network equipment, such as load balancers, routers andswitches. Further, aspects may be located on a single computer system ormay be distributed among a plurality of computer systems connected toone or more communications networks.

For example, various aspects and functions may be distributed among oneor more computer systems configured to provide a service to one or moreclient computers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributedsystem. Additionally, aspects may be performed on a client-server ormulti-tier system that includes components distributed among one or moreserver systems that perform various functions. Consequently, examplesare not limited to executing on any particular system or group ofsystems.

Further, aspects and functions may be implemented in software, hardwareor firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, aspects and functions maybe implemented within methods, acts, systems, system elements andcomponents using a variety of hardware and software configurations, andexamples are not limited to any particular distributed architecture,network, or communication protocol.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated a block diagram of adistributed computer system 900, in which various aspects and functionsare practiced. As shown, the distributed computer system 900 includesone more computer systems that exchange information. More specifically,the distributed computer system 900 includes computer systems 902, 904and 906. As shown, the computer systems 902, 904 and 906 areinterconnected by, and may exchange data through, a communicationnetwork 908. The network 908 may include any communication networkthrough which computer systems may exchange data. To exchange data usingthe network 908, the computer systems 902, 904 and 906 and the network908 may use various methods, protocols and standards, including, amongothers, Fibre Channel, Token Ring, Ethernet, Wireless Ethernet,Bluetooth, IP, IPV6, TCP/IP, UDP, DTN, HTTP, FTP, SNMP, SMS, MMS, SS7,JSON, SOAP, CORBA, REST and Web Services. To ensure data transfer issecure, the computer systems 902, 904 and 906 may transmit data via thenetwork 908 using a variety of security measures including, for example,TLS, SSL or VPN. While the distributed computer system 900 illustratesthree networked computer systems, the distributed computer system 900 isnot so limited and may include any number of computer systems andcomputing devices, networked using any medium and communicationprotocol.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the computer system 902 includes a processor910, a memory 912, a bus 914, an interface 916 and data storage 918. Toimplement at least some of the aspects, functions and processesdisclosed herein, the processor 910 performs a series of instructionsthat result in manipulated data. The processor 910 may be any type ofprocessor, multiprocessor or controller. Some exemplary processorsinclude commercially available processors such as an Intel Xeon,Itanium, Core, Celeron, or Pentium processor, an AMD Opteron processor,a Sun UltraSPARC, ARM processor, or IBM Power5+ processor and an IBMmainframe chip. The processor 910 is connected to other systemcomponents, including one or more memory devices 912, by the bus 914.The memory 912 stores programs and data during operation of the computersystem 902. Thus, the memory 912 may be a relatively high performance,volatile, random access memory such as a dynamic random access memory(DRAM) or static memory (SRAM). However, the memory 912 may include anydevice for storing data, such as a disk drive or other nonvolatilestorage device. Various examples may organize the memory 912 intoparticularized and, in some cases, unique structures to perform thefunctions disclosed herein. These data structures may be sized andorganized to store values for particular data and types of data.

Components of the computer system 902 are coupled by an interconnectionelement such as the bus 914. The bus 914 may include one or morephysical busses, for example, busses between components that areintegrated within a same machine, but may include any communicationcoupling between system elements including specialized or standardcomputing bus technologies such as IDE, SCSI, PCI and InfiniBand. Thebus 914 enables communications, such as data and instructions, to beexchanged between system components of the computer system 902.

The computer system 902 also includes one or more interface devices 916such as input devices, output devices and combination input/outputdevices. Interface devices may receive input or provide output. Moreparticularly, output devices may render information for externalpresentation. Input devices may accept information from externalsources. Examples of interface devices include keyboards, mouse devices,trackballs, microphones, touch screens, printing devices, displayscreens, speakers, network interface cards, etc. Interface devices allowthe computer system 902 to exchange information and to communicate withexternal entities, such as users and other systems.

The data storage 918 includes a computer readable and writeablenonvolatile, or non-transitory, data storage medium in whichinstructions are stored that define a program or other object that isexecuted by the processor 910. The data storage 918 also may includeinformation that is recorded, on or in, the medium, and that isprocessed by the processor 910 during execution of the program. Morespecifically, the information may be stored in one or more datastructures specifically configured to conserve storage space or increasedata exchange performance. The instructions may be persistently storedas encoded signals, and the instructions may cause the processor 910 toperform any of the functions described herein. The medium may, forexample, be optical disk, magnetic disk or flash memory, among others.In operation, the processor 910 or some other controller causes data tobe read from the nonvolatile recording medium into another memory, suchas the memory 912, that allows for faster access to the information bythe processor 910 than does the storage medium included in the datastorage 918. The memory may be located in the data storage 918 or in thememory 912, however, the processor 910 manipulates the data within thememory, and then copies the data to the storage medium associated withthe data storage 918 after processing is completed. A variety ofcomponents may manage data movement between the storage medium and othermemory elements and examples are not limited to particular datamanagement components. Further, examples are not limited to a particularmemory system or data storage system.

Although the computer system 902 is shown by way of example as one typeof computer system upon which various aspects and functions may bepracticed, aspects and functions are not limited to being implemented onthe computer system 902 as shown in FIG. 9. Various aspects andfunctions may be practiced on one or more computers having a differentarchitectures or components than that shown in FIG. 9. For instance, thecomputer system 902 may include specially programmed, special-purposehardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)tailored to perform a particular operation disclosed herein. Whileanother example may perform the same function using a grid of severalgeneral-purpose computing devices running MAC OS System X with MotorolaPowerPC processors and several specialized computing devices runningproprietary hardware and operating systems.

The computer system 902 may be a computer system including an operatingsystem that manages at least a portion of the hardware elements includedin the computer system 902. In some examples, a processor or controller,such as the processor 910, executes an operating system. Examples of aparticular operating system that may be executed include a Windows-basedoperating system, such as, Windows NT, Windows 2000 (Windows ME),Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows RT operatingsystems, available from the Microsoft Corporation, a MAC OS System X oriOS operating system available from Apple Computer, one of manyLinux-based operating system distributions, for example, the EnterpriseLinux operating system available from Red Hat Inc. or Android operatingsystem from Google, Inc., a Solaris operating system available fromOracle Corporation, or a UNIX operating systems available from varioussources. Many other operating systems may be used, and examples are notlimited to any particular operating system.

The processor 910 and operating system together define a computerplatform for which application programs in high-level programminglanguages are written. These component applications may be executable,intermediate, bytecode or interpreted code which communicates over acommunication network, for example, the Internet, using a communicationprotocol, for example, TCP/IP. Similarly, aspects may be implementedusing an object-oriented programming language, such as .Net, SmallTalk,Java, C++, Ada, or C# (C-Sharp). Other object-oriented programminglanguages may also be used.

Alternatively, functional, scripting, or logical programming languagesmay be used. Additionally, various aspects and functions may beimplemented in a non-programmed environment, for example, documentscreated in HTML, XML or other format that, when viewed in a window of abrowser program, can render aspects of a graphical-user interface orperform other functions. Further, various examples may be implemented asprogrammed or non-programmed elements, or any combination thereof. Forexample, a web page may be implemented using HTML while a data objectcalled from within the web page may be written in C++. Thus, theexamples are not limited to a specific programming language and anysuitable programming language could be used. Accordingly, the functionalcomponents disclosed herein may include a wide variety of elements, e.g.specialized hardware, executable code, data structures or objects thatare configured to perform the functions described herein.

In some examples, the components disclosed herein may read parametersthat affect the functions performed by the components. These parametersmay be physically stored in any form of suitable memory includingvolatile memory (such as RAM) or nonvolatile memory (such as a magnetichard drive). In addition, the parameters may be logically stored in apropriety data structure (such as a database or file defined by a usermode application) or in a commonly shared data structure (such as anapplication registry that is defined by an operating system). Inaddition, some examples provide for both system and user interfaces thatallow external entities to modify the parameters and thereby configurethe behavior of the components.

Having described above several aspects of at least one embodiment, it isto be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvementswill readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations,modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of thisdisclosure and are intended to be within the scope of the invention.Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way ofexample only, and the scope of the invention should be determined fromproper construction of the appended claims, and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manufacturing resource planning system for amanufacturer comprising: a memory storing a bill of materials (BOM)associated with at least one product; at least one processor coupled tothe memory; an interface component executable by the at least oneprocessor and configured to receive order information identifying the atleast one product and a desired sales price of the at least one product,and to provide sales information including a calculated sales price ofthe at least one product; and a resource planning component executableby the at least one processor and configured to identify, responsive toreceiving the order information, a plurality of electronic componentsrequired to manufacture the at least one product based on the BOMassociated with the at least one product, identify whether eachrespective electronic component of the plurality of electroniccomponents is one of an owned electronic component owned by themanufacturer or a consigned electronic component consigned to themanufacturer, determine an acquisition cost of each respective ownedelectronic component and a consignment fee associated with eachrespective consigned electronic component, determine a cost of goodssold (COGS) of the at least one product based on a sum of theacquisition cost of each respective owned electronic component and theconsignment fee associated with each respective consigned electroniccomponent, determine the calculated sales price based on amultiplicative product of the COGS and a markup associated with the atleast one product, and provide a recommendation as to whether themanufacturer should manufacture the at least one product, therecommendation being to manufacture the at least one product if thecalculated sales price is equal to or less than the desired sales price,and the recommendation being not to manufacture the at least one productif the calculated sales price is greater than the desired sales price.2. A method of manufacturing resource planning comprising: storing, viaa memory coupled to at least one processor, a bill of materials (BOM)associated with at least one product; receiving, by an interfacecomponent executable by the at least one processor, order informationidentifying at least one product and a desired sales price of the atleast one product; identifying, by a resource planning componentexecutable by the at least one processor, a plurality of electroniccomponents required to manufacture the at least one product based on theBOM associated with the at least one product; identifying, by theresource planning component, whether each respective electroniccomponent of the plurality of electronic components is one of an ownedelectronic component owned by a manufacturer or a consigned electroniccomponent consigned to the manufacturer; determining, by the resourceplanning component, an acquisition cost of each respective ownedelectronic component and a consignment fee associated with eachrespective consigned electronic component; determining, by the resourceplanning component, a cost of goods sold (COGS) of the at least oneproduct based on a sum of the acquisition cost of each respective ownedelectronic component and the consignment fee associated with eachrespective consigned electronic component; determining a calculatedsales price based on a multiplicative product of the COGS and a markupassociated with the at least one product; and providing, via theinterface component, sales information including the calculated salesprice of the at least one product, and a recommendation as to whetherthe manufacturer should manufacture the at least one product, therecommendation being to manufacture the at least one product if thecalculated sales price is equal to or less than the desired sales price,and the recommendation being not to manufacture the at least one productif the calculated sales price is greater than the desired sales price.3. A method of forming a system in a package comprising: receiving aplurality of electrical components; storing first information in amemory of a computer system, the first information identifying a cost ofeach electrical component of the plurality of electrical components;storing second information in the memory of a computer system, thesecond information identifying whether each electrical component of theplurality of electrical components is one of owned by a manufacturer ofthe system in a package or consigned to the manufacturer of the systemin a package; bonding the plurality of electrical components on asubstrate to form the system in a package; for each respective componentof the plurality of components, determining, on at least one processorof the computer system, a respective price of the respective electricalcomponent by multiplying the cost of the respective electrical componentby a first margin in response to the second information identifying therespective electrical component is owned by the manufacturer, and by asecond margin in response to the second information identifying therespective electrical component is consigned to the manufacturer;summing, on the at least one processor, the respective price of eachrespective electrical component of the plurality of electricalcomponents; determining, on the at least one processor, a price of thesystem in a package based on the sum; and shipping the system in apackage for the sum.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising joininga cap substrate to the substrate to seal at least one of the pluralityof electronic components in a cavity between the cap substrate and thesubstrate.